Sunday, September 29, 2013

There's a new feature that came with Android 4.4 KitKat – screen recording – and some of us appear to be more excited about it than others. The prospect of a non-laggy, native recording with decent quality appeals to us on more than a professional level, and it's something many have been looking for in the years past. Unfortunately, the only option one had was to rely on apps that only worked every now and then (and on a very limited number of devices), and even the rooted, paid versions supported restrictively low frame rate.

We've been testing the new built-in feature ever since we got our hands on an early build of Android 4.4 KitKat, and we're bringing you this guide so that you can realize the full potential of Google's new OS, should you wish to do so.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Back in the dark days of March 2012, we told you about Nokia's patent application for a removable ferromagnetic ink tattoo that would send you haptic feedback whenever your phone receives a call. Different callers could be tied to different vibration patterns so that you could tell who is calling without having to look at your phone. Now, Motorola has received a patent for a similar, but functionally different idea.

Motorola's idea is to place a skin tattoo sticker on your neck to be used as a microphone, sending signals to your Motorola Moto X or the latest version of the Motorola DROID. The microphone would be able to send a clearer sound to your handset as it would eliminate background noise. The tattoo would come with its own transceiver, antenna, microphone and signal processor. For some reason not explained, the tattoo would also come with a screen even though the placement of the sticker would preclude you from looking at it.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Earlier today, we heard about AT&T partnering with Lookout Mobile in order to bring better security to your smartphone. Unfortunately, that will only keep you safe from things like malware, and losing your device, and can't really help protect you from the snooping of the U.S. government. A new report is actually saying that AT&T doesn't try to protect you there, and may even sell call data to the CIA.

Government officials have told the New York Times that AT&T is receiving more than $10 million per year in order to supply the CIA with international call data, including data on calls made by Americans. This is not a situation where AT&T is compelled to comply, but a voluntary contract between the carrier and the CIA. However, this isn't a deal to get any and all data from AT&T, but more targeted data.